Can you recommend your church's Sunday School Curriculum?

[Katigre]

I taught Sunday School for the first time in years at our church yesterday. And while I enjoyed m time with the kids and finding creative ways to teach them - I was woefully disappointed in the SS materials.

It consisted of a page to color, a bible story/text to teach with a flannel board, and a list of questions/themes to emphasize and discuss verbally - FOR 3-5 YEAR OLDS. That's right, they're *so* developmentally ready to sit and listen to a lecture and politely answer verbal questions about complex topics. :hunh

While some kids really enjoyed that format, there were others who were not engaged at all - and i don't blame them. Plus if you have a non-creative teacher who just follows the book without supplemental activities and such it would be even worse. It reminded me of a typical school classroom with lecture, listening, raising one's hand to ask questions the teacher knows the 'right answer' to, and doing seat activities like coloring. Not bad things, but IMO should not constitute the foundation for Sunday School and is not conducive to young children embracing and being excited to learn about who God is and spiritual truths.

I would really like to talk to the Sunday School Director about this and recommend some alternative curriculums to investigate. I was thinking about it, and while the current curriculum I would classify as 'typical mainstream classroom' I would like to suggest things that are more hands-on and interactive - more of a Montessori approach I think.

Does anyone's church have a really good children's curriculum?

[Lady TS]

Our church uses the Lifeway stuff. Here is a link to some sample lessons and stuff. http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0%2C1703%2CA%25253D162209%252526M%25253D200738%2C0 0.html?

I'm not sure if it's what they are using currently(cutting back on things due to budgeting) but it used to be that everyone in Sunday School was studying the same passage of Scripture. From toddlers all the way up to old fogeys(lol-kind of a running joke). It is intended to bring unity and foster discussion amongst the family outside of church, kwim?

Don't know if that's at all what you're looking for, but thought I'd share.

Here's another link to the same site with more info on kids' stuff (worship, vbs, etc) Take a look around! ;)
http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/mainpage/0,1701,M%253D200821,00.html

[veggie_mum]

This one probably depends on your thoughts on videos with younger children, but VeggieTales has a preschool curriculum. From my own expereience with it it seems to be geared pretty well to their developmental stages. It's themed according to a different VeggieTale video each quarter. It usually has an opening activity, a video snipet, a story time (often with some kind of action that the kids can do in response to parts of the Bible story, a craft, and a take home idea. It's fairly customizable so there are a couple of different choices for each component.

Also, depending on your thoughts on WillowCreek/Promiseland...they just came out with a Preschool curriculum as well. My dh (he's a Children's Pastor) has seen the curriculum and really approved of it. He found both of these options in his search to get away from curriculums that were structured exactly like you mention. It has not been well received by the lady who does the preschool classes at church, though. I think it's just because it requires more work and a little bit of creativity (and I can understand that in her case).

If you'd like some other suggestions...let me know. I can see what else dh has come across.

[Mert]

I used Hands On Bible curriculum from Group publishing http://www.handsonbible.com/ with my 2 to 4 year olds and liked it alot. Each story has visual, touchable props to tell the story. Lesson plans include extra activities such as art and special snacks. I still added my own songs or favorite art projects especially since our SS lasted for 2 hours, but I thought it worked out well. The 4 to 6 year old teachers didn't like it as much. They didn't feel that it went into enough detail or had good life application lessons. But again, they needed 2 hours of stuff so it may still work for you. HTH

[chellejd]

I'm a Children's Pastor and I would second the Group Publishing Hands-On Bible Curriculum. It's great stuff that is very age and developmentally appropriate. It is also pretty easy for teachers to prepare. I think most if not all the materials are included. It really uses the kids senses and curiosity to explore the various stories and concepts. We use another one called HeartShaper by Standard Publishing that is really good. We've been using it at our church ofr 2 years now. Our teachers love it and I know the kids are really learning from it. Once again, it is age and developmentally appropriate for the kids and uses their senses and creativity. I think it maky require a little more preparation.

[Oliveshoots]

subbing for tomorrow :yawn